The Outlaws
by WalkingInSlowMotion
Summary: Wild West AU. AH. Katherine Pierce is one of the more ill-famed outlaws around the town of Mystic. Damon is a free roaming ranger that is only passing through town. Katherine's looking for a notorious outlaw named Klaus. Damon can help her.
1. Prologue

**Author's note: **I don't think I've seen an AU like this before on this fandom, so I thought I would give it a shot. This story was inspired by Katherine's little quip about Damon "getting the hell out of Dodge." Anyway, I know it's short, but the next chapters will be way longer. Let me know what you think!

**Summary: **Wild West AU. All human. Katherine Pierce is one of the more ill-famed outlaws around the town of Mystic. Damon Salvatore is a free roaming ranger that is only passing through town. After a rather short poker game, Damon finds himself roaming the desert with Katherine, who is looking for someone. A notorious outlaw by the name of Klaus. Adventure, romance, and action ensues.

* * *

><p><strong>The Outlaws.<strong>

Prolouge.

The saloon wasn't very busy during the day, only a few men wondering in for some mid-day drinking. At one table, two men sat playing a game of cards. One man sat back in his chair, his legs stretched out in front of him. The other looked annoyed and pissed off, his green eyes looking up at the other man from above the cards he was holding.

"Alright, show em'." he said, the other man tossing his cards down onto the wooden table face up with a smirk on his mouth. The green eyed man growled, placing his cards down.

"Two pair." the man growled, the blue eyed man clapping his hands together once as he sat up with a smile on his face.

"Full house." he remarked, the man on the other side of the table sighing rather angrily. The blue eyed man leaned forwards to pull the cards towards himself.

"You're lucky that I didn't charge you this time, brother." he said, the other man standing from the table. The blue eyed man looked a little confused. "You leavin' me?"

"Yeah, I got to head out to the next town before sun down." he said, collecting his belt and tightened it around his waist. He placed his hat on his head, giving his brother a smile. "Was still good to see you, Damon."

"Yeah, yeah." Damon said, piling the cards together. "Tell me when you're back in town, Stefan. Maybe you can beat me next time."

"Not likely if you keep cheatin' like you do." Stefan muttered, heading out of the saloon and out into the hot desert sun. Damon looked down at his cards, shuffling them a few times. It hadn't been more than a few minutes when he heard a pair of boots coming towards his table. Damon didn't look up from his cards when he could see the figure of someone standing in front of him.

"What are you wagering?" Damon asked, still not looking up.

"You." A sly female voice replied to him, making Damon glance up to look into a pair of brown eyes. She stood with her hands on her hips, a loose vest covering when he assumed were her pistols. She smirked down at him, her wavy brown hair framing her face.

"Well, now, that's a big wager, miss." Damon said, watching as she sat down. He had seen her somewhere, her face was very familiar. Then, he remembered.

This was Katherine Pierce, a woman that was wanted in a few towns for murder and arson. What she was doing in Mystic, he had no clue. But, he had intentions of finding out.

"Well, tell you what. If I win this game, you'll help me out. If you win, I'll give you all the money I have on me."

Damon smirked, "now, what would you want me for?"

"Why don't you play and find out?" Katherine retorted, smirking at him from across the table. Her slender hand reaching out and pulled the cards towards herself with a challenging look in her eyes.


	2. Chapter 1

**A/N: **Here's the first official chapter of The Outlaws. I hope you all enjoy it! It may just be Damon and Katherine at the moment, but I plan on having all the Vampire Diaries characters playing a part in this story eventually.

**Summary: **Wild West AU. All human. Katherine Pierce is one of the more ill-famed outlaws around the town of Mystic. Damon Salvatore is a free roaming ranger that is only passing through town. After a rather short poker game, Damon finds himself roaming the desert with Katherine, who is looking for someone. A notorious outlaw by the name of Klaus. Adventure, romance, and action ensues.

* * *

><p><strong>The Outlaws.<strong>

**1.**

"A pair of kings." Damon said, placing the cards down. This was the final stretch, the hand that wins or loses it all. He watched Katherine's face for anything that would tell him that if he'd won the hand. She was known for stealing a few things and money while on the run, and Damon wanted that money. It would make him a very happy man for a few months at least. Or maybe more, depending on how much she had. That's why his blue eyes were studying her face, her eyes. He wanted to see a sparkle in her brown eyes, or a bit of disappointment. He wanted to see the slight uplift of her lips to tell if she's won, or the frown to tell him that he's the winner.

Anything.

But, Katherine's face stayed in that infuriating poker face that she's had all game, the line that was her lips, not yet a smile or a frown, was driving Damon insane trying to read. She placed her cards down, finally. Her mouth lifted up into that sly smirk that Damon was becoming more and more accustomed to.

"Straight." she said, Damon staring at her cards to make sure that she hadn't made a mistake or read the cards wrong. She was right. A nice, solid, straight. He watched as Katherine stood, smirking down at him.

"Well," she said, "I'm out of here in the next hour or so. Gather your stuff and we'll head out."

"Now, wait. Who says I'm going anywhere with you?" Damon demanded, standing. Katherine chuckled, fixing her vest slightly.

"I just won you in a poker game, sweetheart. You'll do whatever I say if you know what is best for you." she said, then turned and walked out of the saloon, leaving a pissed off Damon standing by the table.

* * *

><p>Damon managed to get his canteen filled and bought some food. He looped his canteen around his waist and put the food in a bag that was tied down to his saddle. He climbed up onto his brown mare and rode his way to the edge of town where Katherine was waiting on her horse, looking like she was ready to take off at any given second.<p>

"Took you long enough." she snapped once Damon got near enough for hearing distance. "I'm not exactly welcome in this town, and the longer I stay, the more chance of people recognizing me."

"Yeah, well, you just dumped this whole thing onto my head, so it would be nice if I had a little more than an hour to gather myself." Damon snapped back at her, Katherine only rolling her eyes as she turned her horse slightly.

"You ready?" she asked, glancing back at him. "We'll head north until sun down, then take camp for the night."

"Yeah, sounds good." Damon said, watching as Katherine dug her heel into the flank of her horse, Damon doing the same to his mare before the two started to trot out of town limits.

"So, what exactly do you need me for?" Damon asked after a few minutes of riding, Katherine keeping her eyes ahead of her as she answered him.

"I heard that you knew how to handle a gun, some might even call you the best." she said, "that true?"

"I like to think it to be true." Damon said with a smirk of his own, he could hear Katherine chuckle up ahead of him.

"Good. Because you are going to help me kill a man." Katherine said, "and there will be a lot of shooting involved. I thought that it would be nice to have an extra pair of eyes watching my ass." Katherine said, giving him a sort of cheeky smile.

Damon only rolled his eyes in response to that. "So, Miss Pierce, you mind telling me what I'm going to be putting a bullet in a man's head for? I don't like to go around shooting people for no good reason."

"He took my sister." Katherine called back, "right out of our home a few years ago. I've been tracking the bastard ever since. When I think I'm getting close, he does something completely out of the blue and I lose him again. But, I have him this time, and I'm not going to let him get away. Not this time."

"Who is this man?" Damon asked, kicking his mare on the flanks again to try and catch up with Katherine.

"Name's Klaus." she said, "you might have heard of him."

"_Might_ have heard of him?" Damon asked, his voice going from calm to incredulous. "Every town from Mystic to Deadwood has heard of Klaus."

"Good!" Katherine chuckled, "It should make it easier to kill him then, huh?"

"Not really." Damon muttered, shaking his head. "It'll be a _miracle_ if he doesn't kill us first, we'll be _lucky_ if he doesn't tie one of us to the back of his horse and drags us across the desert."

"You make it sound so difficult." Katherine said, "you get the right aim and the right distance, you can have his head shot before he even knows you're coming."

"Who says I'm the one shooting him?" Damon demanded, "I don't remember this being part of our terms if you won the poker game."

"Our terms were that if I won, I got you." Katherine said, "which means that I can make you do anything I want."

"Right. Well, what if I turn around right here and head back to Mystic? No damn winner's agreement is going to make me bound to you."

"No, but my gun to your head might." Katherine said, kicking her horse to make him move faster before crossing Damon's path, making him pull back on the rains of his mare. Katherine's pistol was out of her vest and was pointed at his head.

"You turn around." she said, smiling. "Try it. There'll be a bullet in your skull before your horse even completes the turn."

Damon looked at the barrel of her gun, the metal shining in the sun. He glanced up into Katherine's face and raised his hands.

"Alright, fine." he said, "I'll play along with your little trip here, no need to scatter my brains out on the sand."

"Great." Katherine said with a satisfied smile, tucking her gun into her vest again. She pulled on the rains of her horse, digging her heels into the flank as her horse continued to trot in the direction they were going. "Enough talking! I want to make it to the canyon by night fall, so dig your heels in and ride."

Damon sighed, digging his heels into his mare's flanks a few times until she reached a full gallop, both Katherine and him heading towards the canyon in the hot sun, leaving a trail of dust behind them.

* * *

><p>Nightfall came quickly, Katherine pulling over to the side of a few bushes once she decided that it was too dark to keep going. She guided her horse over to the bushes, quickly dismounting and tying her horse to the bush, her horse moving to go eat the vegetation eagerly. Katherine patted her horse's flank a few times, glancing back to see Damon tying his horse down also.<p>

"We'll rest here for the night." she said, pulling a pack off of her horse and tossed it onto the ground. "As soon as sun rise, we'll hit the trails again."

"How long will this trek of yours take?" Damon asked, raising his arms above his head to stretch the muscles in his back. Katherine bent down and emptied the contents of her bag out onto the ground. She had a blanket, a few pieces of drift wood and a can of beans.

"A few days." Katherine said, answering Damon's question.

"A few days in your terms _is_?" Damon pressed, placing his bag down on the ground.

"A few weeks." Katherine said with a shrug. She glanced up to see Damon's annoyed expression on his face. "Oh, relax will you? There will be towns that we will stay in along the way, just as long as I'm not greeted with guns when I enter."

"Oh, right." Damon muttered, "you're a wanted woman."

"Well, you will soon be wanted man, Damon." Katherine said, "one of the perks of working with me."

"Wonderful." Damon said, pulling out his blanket and spread it down on the ground. He sat down on it with a groan, feeling good to be sitting on solid ground and not his hard saddle.

Katherine set to work on making the fire between the two of them. She soon had a decent sized one so that the both of them weren't freezing.

"You hungry?" she asked, Damon glancing up as she tossed a can of beans at him. Damon caught it, turning it over in his hands.

"Beans?"

"I'm sorry. I should have packed some pork in there, too." she said, her tone biting. "Suck it up."

Damon peeled back the lid that was already open, half of the can gone. He pulled a face, lifting it up to smell it. "How long ago was this opened?"

"A few minutes ago." Katherine said, "A woman's got to eat."

Damon shrugged, eating the beans contently to himself. He didn't realize how hungry he was until the can was empty, he placed it down on the ground beside him as she fell back onto his blanket to look at the stars above them. Katherine turned to look at him, raising her eyebrows slightly.

He was attractive, she's give him that. But, it wasn't enough to make her want to mess around with the only ally she had at the moment. She sighed, curling up on her side and listened to the howls and bays of a few coyotes as she drifted off into a light sleep.

* * *

><p>Damon was just waking slightly, he could have easily drifted back into a deep sleep again when he felt a sharp pain in his side of his ribs. Something hitting him against the side, making his eyes pop open and yell out in pain. He looked over to see Katherine standing over him, hands on her hips. The sky above her was still dark, but the sun was rising over on the horizon, causing the sky to look pink just above it.<p>

"Why did you kick me?" Damon asked, pressing a hand to his side as Katherine smiled down at him.

"Get up. We have a long day ahead of us." she said, "Gather your blanket, can, and get on your horse."

Damon sighed, pulling himself up and off the ground. It had been a long time since he had slept outside and on the ground. He had forgotten what it had felt like. The dull pain in the centre of his back reminded him why he didn't sleep on the ground often.

Damon picked up his can, looking at it for a few seconds before putting it in his bag. He picked up his blanket and draped it over the back of his horse before untying the mare and got on her.

Katherine looked at him with an eyebrow raised, Damon raising his own in return.

"Are you always this slow in the mornings?" she asked, "we don't have time for you to chew fat, the more time we waste, the farther Klaus gets."

"Isn't that a good thing?" Damon muttered to himself as Katherine set out on the trail again. Damon sighed, digging his heel into the flank of his mare and took off after her. Then sun was just rising and Damon was already tired of Katherine.

It was going to be a long day indeed.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N: **Here's the second chapter in this story here, I hope you all are enjoying it! It's a little shorter than the last one, but it helps with setting up the events of the story. Anyway, thank you for the reviews and alerts, I'm really happy that people are following this story.

**Summary: **Wild West AU. All human. Katherine Pierce is one of the more ill-famed outlaws around the town of Mystic. Damon Salvatore is a free roaming ranger that is only passing through town. After a rather short poker game, Damon finds himself roaming the desert with Katherine, who is looking for someone. A notorious outlaw by the name of Klaus. Adventure, romance, and action ensues.

* * *

><p><strong>The Outlaws.<strong>

**2.**

Keeping up with Katherine was turning out to be quite the task, following her down the long trails with nothing to see but barren wastelands and tall canyons on either side of them. The sun was hot and sweltering, Damon feeling like he was riding across a frying pan instead of a desert. But, Katherine seemed just fine with it, keeping her head up, back straight, and eyes watching the land around them.

It was a good thing. At least one of them was awake and alert.

"The next town is in fifteen miles, if I'm not mistaken." Katherine called back to him, relief washing over Damon.

"But, there's something we got to do, first." Katherine said, shooting Damon a sly smile that put a rather unpleasant feeling in the pit of his stomach. But, whatever she wanted to do, Damon would do. He valued his life a lot more than his pride.

"Come!" Katherine said, veering sharply off the trail and into the bush. Damon frowned, turning his horse and followed down in after her. Katherine's horse seemed to have known what he was doing, moving through the bush without any problems. Katherine must have done this many times.

On the other hand, Damon's horse was being cautious. She wouldn't move through certain bushes or step over certain rocks. But, after a few manoeuvres, Damon managed to meet up with Katherine on the side of a rail road track.

"What are we doing here?" Damon asked, coming to a stop beside her. Katherine was fishing around in a bag that she hand.

"You'll see." Katherine said, pulling out two black bandanas, tossing him one. "Cover your nose and mouth and pull your hat down just a bit over your eyes." she instructed, Damon frowning as he did as she told him, Katherine doing the same.

"So, what are we doing this for?" Damon asked, though he had a feeling he already knew. Rail road tracks, hiding their faces. It didn't take him too long to put the pieces together, but he wanted Katherine to confirm it. She smirked at him from under her bandana.

"You never hijacked a train before?" she asked, Damon sighed and shook his head.

"I prefer to ride them, really."

"Well, today's your lucky day, Damon." she said, "there should be one on it's way right now."

"You have a watch?" Damon asked, Katherine only shook her head at him.

"Learn to read the sun, it'll be your best asset, trust me." Katherine said, looking up at the burning fireball in the sky, placing a hand on her forehead to shade her eyes a little more. "It's about one in the afternoon, the train should be here in a few minutes."

Damon frowned, looking down the rail road track. There was a train in the distance, Katherine noticing it, too.

"Move back farther into the bushes." she said, turning her horse and headed down a bit farther in, Damon doing the same. Katherine hung low, watching the train closely. "Get ready to go in a few seconds." she muttered, Damon lowering himself so that he was standing slightly.

The train was getting closer, closer. Then, Katherine shouted out something that Damon didn't catch, her horse taking off after the train. Damon following out a few seconds later. He watched as Katherine pushed her horse to keep moving, nearing the train enough that she reached out with both hands, using her arms to swing into the opening on the train with ease.

Damon tried to follow what she did, but it proved to be more difficult than it looked. He managed to get one hand on a bar of the moving train, then the other. He dangled a bit over the space between his horse and the train for a bit before he swung himself into the opening where Katherine was waiting.

"Not bad." she commented, Damon could see the slight crinkle of her eyes as she chuckled at him. Damon only shot her a look, waiting for his heart to slow. She pulled out her pistol, Damon doing the same.

"You go up front and tell the conductor to stop it, I'll get what we came for." she said, Damon nodding a bit unsure of himself, but moved ahead of her up to the front of the train. Katherine walked through the train, looking for the person she came for. She spotted her sitting a few feet away from her. A few people on the train looked at her with fear, Katherine raising her gun.

"Nobody move!" she yelled, "anybody moves, they're dead!" she walked forwards until she was looking into the blue eyes of the woman she was looking for.

"Katherine." she said, staring at her wide eyed.

"Hello, Caroline." Katherine greeted, "I'm afraid you're coming with us." she grabbed the woman then, pulling her up out of her seat and towards the entrance of the train car that they were in. The train was stopping, Katherine happy that Damon at least followed orders. A few moments after the train slowed enough, Katherine shoved Caroline out of the train, the woman falling down into the hot sand.

"What-?" Caroline started to ask, but Katherine pressed her knee on her back to keep her on the ground as she pulled out some rope from the bag that she was carrying. She saw Damon jump out of another train car a few feet ahead of her as she started to hogtie Caroline.

"What the hell is this?" Caroline yelled as Katherine got off of her, Caroline moving and trying to break free of the ropes.

"You're coming with us." Katherine said, looking over at Damon. "Use the rest of the rope to tie her down to my saddle." she said, glancing down at Caroline. "Wouldn't want her falling off."

Damon looked down at the blonde for a few seconds before he sighed and picked her up, Caroline fighting him the whole way. He managed to get her securely tied down to Katherine's saddle.

"Let me go!" Caroline yelled, "what do you want from me, I don't have any money on me!"

"Shut up." Katherine muttered, hitting Caroline harshly over the head with her gun. Caroline fell limp, her head hung low against the horse's hide. She turned to Damon then, removing her bandana.

Damon removed his also, stuffing it in his pocket.

"Get your horse." Katherine said, "we'll ride to the next town and then we'll get the information that we need from her."

"What kind of information?" Damon asked as Katherine made sure that Caroline was secure again.

"She was the most recant person my sister talked with, she might know where Klaus spends most of his time." She said, hopping up onto her horse. She glanced down at Damon with a smile on her face. "Hurry up, or I'm leaving without you."

Damon sighed, whistling for his horse, the animal came trotting up to him. He pulled himself up onto his horse, taking off after Katherine who had already taken off without him.

* * *

><p>Caroline had came back around a few hours later, finding herself tied down to a chair. She was in a room with Katherine and Damon, Caroline pulling against the ropes again. Katherine stood and smiled down at her, though it was rather cruel and sly than warm and comforting.<p>

"It's so nice of you to finally wake up." she said, pulling a chair up behind her and took a seat in front of Caroline.

"Release me." Caroline growled, Katherine only shaking her head.

"You tell me what I want to hear, and I'll cut those ropes." she said, "that sound good?"

Caroline glared at her, but nodded her head. "What? What do you want to know?"

"I hear you talked with my sister a few days ago, you mind telling me where she was headed?" Katherine asked, leaning forward on her elbows as Caroline's eyebrows pulled together.

"Who's your sister?" she asked, Katherine only laughing.

"Don't play games with me, Caroline. You know very well who my sister is. Where is she?"

Caroline looked her in the eyes. "She didn't tell me where she was going, I don't know where she would be."

Katherine sighed, "well, I guess you're no use to me." she pulled out her pistol, Caroline's eyes moving to the gun almost immediately. Katherine raised her gun to press against her temple, Caroline starting to speak really fast.

"_Stop, stop_." she said, "I don't know where your sister was going, but I know where Klaus spends most of his time." she said, "it's in that lawless town a few miles off from Deadwood. She told me that he has a sister that lives there that he visits frequently."

"Huh." Katherine said, her eyebrow's raised. "Now, that's more like it." she turned to Damon, "untie her, we have a bit of a journey ahead of us."

Damon stood and walked over to Caroline, cutting the ropes. Caroline stood quickly, shooting the both of them a look.

"Don't think that I won't be telling anybody about this." she growled, "you'll both be dead if I have anything to say about it."

Katherine only grinned at her, "I heard it all before, Caroline. Why don't you leave before I change my mind and decide that you would be better off dead."

Caroline left pretty quickly after that, Katherine sighing and taking a seat on the chair by the table that Damon and her were sitting by before.

"We better leave here pretty quick." Damon said, "I don't think she's keeping quiet about this."

"Yeah, yeah." Katherine said, standing. "We'll go pay a visit to this sister of Klaus' and see what we can get from her. But, Lawless is about a week's ride across the desert. We'll travel to the next town and stock up there."

Damon nodded, the both of them heading out into the evening air.


	4. Chapter 3

**A/N: ** It's a shorter chapter tonight again, seeing as I'm feeling a bit under the weather. I hope to have my chapter length up higher again soon, promise.

**Summary: **Wild West AU. All human. Katherine Pierce is one of the more ill-famed outlaws around the town of Mystic. Damon Salvatore is a free roaming ranger that is only passing through town. After a rather short poker game, Damon finds himself roaming the desert with Katherine, who is looking for someone. A notorious outlaw by the name of Klaus. Adventure, romance, and action ensues.

**The Outlaws.**

**3.**

The towns seemed to get more and more deserted the more they moved towards Lawless, as Katherine frequently called the town. In truth, "Lawless" didn't have a name, as if nobody were to find it. It was within reason, of course. The town was a nice hide out for bandits and lawbreakers alike, but weeks in the desert in the hot sun, the food they bought had only lasted them about half of the first week. Lucky, there was a nice supply of water.

Damon was starting to get delirious, the dizziness increasing the more time he was out in the desert. Katherine was pretty worn down, also, but she did a good job of not showing it. Damon had to admire that strong personality of her's, it helped him out with his will to keep going. But, he was pretty close to just giving up on her. He rode a few feet behind her usually, it wouldn't take much to turn around and ride off. He would be a few feet off once she realizes that he's turned around, she might even try to shoot at him. But, if Damon could keep his head low and his mare would keep her speed up, he should be okay. And home bound, hopefully.

But, he kept following her through the trails, something about her keeping him following like a lost dog. Maybe it was because he was so far from home, not that he had anything to get back to. No wife or kids, just a small cabin in the mountains. Not that he really wanted any of that, he was pretty content drifting from town to town. But, he wasn't in the desert for more than a few days. Weeks was a little much.

Katherine turned her head as a town came into view, she glanced back at him. "We'll take a few hours in that town, it looks to be inhabited."

Damon let out a slight sigh of relief, following Katherine into the town. The buildings looked a little run down, the paint on some of the stores had faded. But, there was a saloon, and a few people were walking around in the streets. Katherine seemed quite content with this town, most of the people giving them a curious glance but nothing more.

Katherine climbed down from her horse, tying it down on a wooden pole. She glanced over at Damon as he followed suit.

"Take a few minutes and get a drink, I'll get some more food and there's someone I need to see." Katherine said, turning to walk off, but Damon called out to her.

"Who's this person you want to see?" Damon asked, "last time you went to go see someone, we pulled her out of a train and tied her up."

Katherine chuckled, crossing her arms. "Nothing like that is going to happen this time, I can assure you." Damon noticed something hidden in her gaze and could tell that she was lying to him, that something like what happened with Caroline was going to happen. But, for some reason she didn't want him there with her.

"Seriously." Katherine said, turning and headed down the boarded sidewalk towards the other side of town. Damon watched her go for a few moments, then headed inside the saloon.

* * *

><p>Katherine paused outside one of the more better looking houses, pushing open the door carefully as she stepped inside. The interior was a little nicer than the exterior, cleaner. Someone had been living here. She smiled slightly, knowing that she might find him here also.<p>

She entered the house a little farther, coming out into a living area where the click of a gun was heard. She froze where she stood, a sly smile crossing her face.

"Give me a reason why I shouldn't shoot you where you stand." came a smooth voice from behind her, Katherine turning to look at the person. A man sat in front of a table, his hand wrapped around a bottle of moonshine. The bottle looked to be half full, but the man drinking it seemed sober. His green eyes looking at her over his gun that was aimed at her.

"Because I have business for you." Katherine said, tucking her hand behind her back a bit as she gave him a smirk. The man kept his face expressionless as she sat up in his chair.

"Now, why would I want to work with you?" he asked, "you're someone I would have normally hunted down and shot."

"But, we both know you haven't been hunting anybody down for a long time." Katherine said, crossing her arms. "Besides, I'm taking down a bigger threat than myself."

"Who would that be, Katherine?" He asked, sounding almost uninterested. Katherine shot him a sly smile, rocking back on her heels a bit.

"Just Klaus." she said, the man on the other side of the room looking up now, interested. He let out a low chuckle, looking her up and down.

"Well, good luck with that."

"You gonna help me?" Katherine asked, walking a bit closer to the table as she fished around in the hidden pocket of her vest. "Don't act like you aren't interested, I can see it on your face."

"I'm more amused than anything. I mean, there's been bounty hunters hunting Klaus for years and nobody has come back from running into him. But, you are going to kill him? Katherine Pierce, a woman on the run?"

"I just happen to have one Damon Salvatore with me." Katherine said, pulling out a tan sack and tossed it onto the table. "And a little offering to spice up the position."

"I don't want your dirty money." the man said, looking at the sack as if she had handed him a big full of cattle innards. "But, Damon interests me."

"So, are you in?"

The man seemed to think a bit, standing from the table and grabbed the sack, pushing it into her chest. Katherine stepped back a bit from the force, the man standing in front of her standing very close now.

"Tell you what, I'll help you out on this little game about killing Klaus, but this is the last time you seek me out. Once all is said and done, you forget you even know me. Understood?"

Katherine smiled, "you're giving me a hard deal, but sure."

"Good. You keep your money and meet me at the saloon in two hours. You're late, I'm leaving."

Katherine took her money, sticking it in her vest pocket, giving him a rather forced smile. "Nice doing business with you, Mikael."


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N: **Here is the next chapter! Don't be scared to leave me a review, I can take constructive criticism and even plot improvements or corrections if you see fit. It's just frustrating to have 216 hits and only two reviews, you know? Anyway, to those who have reviewed, thank you! :)

**Summary: **Wild West AU. All human. Katherine Pierce is one of the more ill-famed outlaws around the town of Mystic. Damon Salvatore is a free roaming ranger that is only passing through town. After a rather short poker game, Damon finds himself roaming the desert with Katherine, who is looking for someone. A notorious outlaw by the name of Klaus. Adventure, romance, and action ensues.

* * *

><p><strong>The Outlaws<strong>

**4.**

Katherine entered the saloon, looking around at the heads, looking for Damon. She spotted him chatting with a woman, who leaned rather seductively against the wall beside Damon. She was laughing at something he head, making it pretty obvious that she was showing him her cleavage.

Katherine almost felt bad for having to break that up, but that feeling faded as quickly as it came as she walked over. The woman is oblivious to Katherine's approach, Damon seeing her coming from a mile off. He looked rather annoyed, the woman turning to see what gave him that frown on his face. Her eyes land on Katherine, the smile she had on her face faltering a little bit when Katherine stopped in front of her.

She didn't acknowledge the woman as she looked at Damon, eyebrows raised slightly.

"Sorry to interrupt." she started, her voice rather calm, but there was the hidden amusement in her tone that she let slip through without really knowing she was doing so. "We need to leave town very soon, so I would wrap up here and meet me outside."

Damon looked like he was going to comment, but he just nodded his head at seeing Katherine's I-mean-business expression on her face. "Alright."

"Good." Katherine said, flashing the woman a quick smirk before turning and walking out of the saloon.

The sun was a few hours away from setting, making the sky look orange. Katherine leaned against one of the wooden banisters that surrounded the deck of the saloon, her arms resting limply over the edge. Damon came out a few seconds later, coming to stand beside her.

"When you said we were resting here, I thought you meant overnight." he said, annoyed. Katherine gave him a lop-sided smile, raising her eyebrows.

"Until Klaus is dead and gone, you better get used to sleeping on the ground. I can't stay very long in towns, and, know that a few towns know that you are working with me, neither can you." she smiled, "besides, I don't think you were going to be getting any in there."

Damon shook his head, "so, why are we still waiting around?"

"Because we are waiting for someone, he should be along shortly." Katherine said, turning her head to look down the street. Damon followed her gaze, not seeing anything, he turned his head back around to look at her again.

"So, who is this stranger, then?" he asked, turning so his back was leaning against the wooden pole.

"Mikael." Katherine said in a matter of fact tone. Damon's eyebrows furrowed, frowning.

"I think I've heard of him." he said, "he's that bounty hunter that left Mystic one day and didn't return. He's supposedly dead."

"Yeah, well, sometimes dead people aren't really as dead as we thought they were." Katherine said, pushing herself up into a standing position, her arms crossed. "He knows where and how to find Klaus."

"I thought that this sister of Klaus' knew where he would be?" Damon asked, "that's why were on our way to Lawless."

"She's Klaus' sister, Damon. You really expect her to tell us the truth?" Katherine asked, chuckling. "That's why Mikael is our...second opinion."

"Oh, wonderful." Damon said, "so we have a dead, but not really dead, ex-bounty hunter riding with us across the desert? You do know that you are an outlaw, you trust him?"

"I've worked with him before." Katherine stated, "of course, that's a story better told at another time."

Katherine looked over at Mikael as he approached them, his eyes moving from her to Damon.

"I was beginning to think you weren't going to show." Katherine commented as Mikael came to stand in front of her.

"We did have a deal." he said, glancing at Damon. "And you're running with the wrong side of the law these days, I see."

"Do I know you?" Damon retorted rather defensively. " I didn't choose to go with Katherine of my own free will."

"Ah, right." Katherine said, looking at Mikael. "I won him in a poker game."

Damon shot her a rather angry look at that statement, but Katherine carried on before he could comment.

"Well, I guess were going now." she said, Mikael nodding in agreement.

"Lawless should be a night's ride from here." he said, walking off of the deck and onto the sand, coming to stand beside Katherine's horse. "I'm guessing you don't mind that I'll be taking your horse from here on out."

Katherine looked like she felt exactly the opposite, but she felt that they needed Mikael at the moment. She shook her head, forcing at smile at him.

"No." her voice coming off more snippy than anything, "please, do steal my horse."

Mikael either didn't notice her tone, or he ignored it as he climbed up onto the horse. Katherine glanced over at Damon, who looked rather confused for a few seconds. Three people and two horses, that meant...

"I guess I'm riding with you." Katherine said, climbing up onto Damon's mare. Damon stared up at her for a few seconds, then managed to get himself up onto the horse, moving forward so that he was sitting on the saddle. The horse made a few protesting noises to the extra weight, but she didn't seem like she was struggling.

Damon grabbed the rains, Katherine's back pressed against his chest as he took off after Mikael, the horse refusing to go any faster than a fast paced trot.

* * *

><p>Lawless was a very run down town, the buildings falling apart and it seemed like a ghost town. The three of them managed to get there early morning, Mikael seeming to know what he was doing. Katherine was pretty willing to steal another horse for the time being, and she had her eyes on the gray mare that stood tied up to a pole outside one of, if the only, nice houses in town.<p>

"I don't think she'll miss her." Katherine said, Damon's blanket tucked under her arm as she patted the horse on the side a few times. Damon shook his head, following Mikael up to the house. Katherine followed shortly after, Mikael knocking on the door.

"This is Lawless." Katherine pointed out, "nobody knocks on doors." she moved in front of them, lifting her foot up and kicked the door with great force. The door swung open with a loud bang, the part where it was locked to the door frame breaking off in pieces. Katherine glanced back at the two men with a smile, "you really think she was going to answer the door?"

Mikael, looking irritated, brushed past Katherine, bumping her shoulder in the process. Katherine chuckled, walking forward into the house with Damon following, removing his pistol from it's holster.

"What the hell is-" a female's voice called out, the owner of the house walking around the corner, ready to strike. But, when her eyes landed on the three intruders, she stopped dead in her tracks.

"Mikael?" it was said in the form of a question, but it came out sounding more like a statement. The ex-bounty hunter's mouth lifted up into a rather cruel looking smirk.

"Rebekah." he greeted, "do you have time for a chat?"

"What do you want?" she snapped, her initial shock turning into anger. She frowned at the three of them, her hands curled into tight fists. She looked like she was ready to attack any of them if they made a move. "Why are you here?"

"We're here for Klaus." Katherine said, walking forward slightly. "And we've recently heard that you can tell us where he is."

Rebekah regarded the three of them for a moment, her eyes narrowed. "What makes you think that I'm willing to give that information away?"

"It doesn't matter if you're willing or not," Katherine said, removing her pistol from her vest pocket, "either way we'll force it out of you."

"_Why use force?_" a voice cut across the room, making Katherine freeze in what she was doing. Mikael turned and looked at who had spoken. Katherine turned around rather quickly, her eyes taking in the sandy brown hair, the mockingly playful smile, but his eyes were hard.

"When I'm right here." Klaus said, Katherine's eyes moving from his to the person standing beside him, the man with the brown hair and green eyes.

Damon was the one who spoke up then, his eyebrows raised his shock. "Stefan?"

Stefan stared expressionlessly at his brother, the two Salvatores maintaining eye contact. But, a shadow crossed the dusty floor, Katherine's eyes widening. Her brown eyes meeting exactly the same eyes, the two girls looking identical right down to the brown hair.

"_Katherine?_" Elena said, sounding as shocked as her sister looked.


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N: So sorry this took so long, but here it is. Reviews keep me going! Thanks for the support so far! **

**Summary: Wild West AU. All human. Katherine Pierce is one of the more ill-famed outlaws around the town of Mystic. Damon Salvatore is a free roaming ranger that is only passing through town. After a rather short poker game, Damon finds himself roaming the desert with Katherine, who is looking for someone. A notorious outlaw by the name of Klaus. Adventure, romance, and action ensues.**

* * *

><p><strong>The Outlaws<strong>

**5.**

"What the hell, Stefan?" Damon questioned, breaking the momentary silence. Damon's brother took a glance at Klaus and Elena, a frown crossing his face.

"You said that we were just going to visit your sister," he said, ignoring Damon, "did you know they were here?"

Klaus glanced at Stefan, "you never know what you will find out here. Speaking of, Miss Katherine, I haven't seen you in months," he walked forward, Damon gripping his pistol tighter. Mikael seemed calm, his eyes on the outlaw walking towards them.

"How have you been?" Klaus asked, his voice sickly sweet. Katherine found it hard to fight the urge to shoot him in the head right then and there.

"Not very well," Katherine said, "seeing as you still have my sister."

"Well," Klaus said, "as frustrating as that may be, for you, I'm not done with her yet."

"You son of a bitch-" Katherine growled, but Mikael said her name, making her to look at him with a questioning look.

"Not here, we both know you won't win that fight."

Katherine glared at him, "who's side are you on?"

Klaus watched the short exchange for a few moments, then glanced at Damon. He tilted his head slightly, giving him a look. "Damon Salvatore."

Damon narrowed his eyes, "what are you doing with my brother?"

"I'm not doing anything with your brother, he's with me by choice." Klaus said, taking a glance at Stefan. The younger Salvatore frowned at him, not saying anything. Damon gave Stefan a questioning look, Klaus still smiling about it all.

Elena glanced at Klaus, "I want to speak with Katherine." she said, authority in her voice. It was odd hearing it from her, and Klaus looked at Katherine. He knew that if she tried anything, she wouldn't survive his counter attack.

"Fine." he stated, Katherine moving from her spot and walked over to Elena. She stepped outside, Katherine following close behind.

"You're alright?" Katherine asked, Elena glancing at her.

"I am," she replied, stopping and looking at her horse, "but you really need to stop this."

Katherine stared at her for a few seconds, "you like riding around with Klaus?"

"Oh God, no," Elena said, turning to look at her, "but I'm scared for you. You know what he will do to you once he decides that he's had enough of you?" she questioned, fear in her voice. "You'll get a bullet in your head."

"No, I'm not giving up," Katherine stated, "Elena, come with us now. You can while you have a chance, Klaus has his back turned."

"No, I can't risk it." Elena said with a sigh, Katherine shaking her head. Elena seemed to stand there for a few moments, like she was waiting for something. Katherine turned slightly, glancing back towards the house when all hell broke loose.

There was shouting, Katherine picking up on the fact that it was Damon's. She started to move towards the house to help him when she felt something cold and hard pressed against her head.

"Don't move." Elena stated, her gun pressed against the back of Katherine's head. Her sister stilled, waiting. She watched as Stefan dragged out a struggling Damon, Klaus marching Mikael outside with his gun pressed against his head.

"You were expecting this all along?" Katherine asked her sister quietly, watching Damon being tied up by Stefan.

"I'm sorry," Elena said, "I'm being forced to this. I hope you understand."

Katherine didn't reply, watching a now unconscious Damon being loaded onto the horse. Klaus still kept his gun pressed against the back of Mikael's head, she was fearing that he would shoot him. Mikael was probably the one thing that allowed her to track Klaus, since Damon was obviously going to be gone if she didn't do anything.

Quickly, Katherine pulled her gun out of her vest and turned on her sister, gripping her arm as Elena fired off the shot. Katherine took that time to attempt to hit her with her gun, but Elena was quick and backed away.

Katherine got the hilt of Elena's gun slammed into her nose, Katherine letting out a yelp of pain and gripped her nose. She felt a sharp pain shoot across the back of her head as she fell down into the sand, her eyes connecting with Stefan's boots.

Son of a-

There was gunfire, Katherine's vision going black.

Elena stood over her sister, looking down at her. She glanced at Stefan, Klaus walking towards them as Mikael lay in the sand also.

"Why Damon?" Elena questioned, feeling bad she had ti hurt her sister. "Katherine is much more experienced."

"Yes, but now Katherine has no way to track me," he bent down, removing Katherine's guns and her knives, "and she has no weapons."

Stefan gave Elena a sympathetic look as he headed back towards his horse where Damon was laying, hands tied up. Elena cast one glance at her sister before walking to her own horse, glancing at Klaus as he talked to his sister.

Mikael was bleeding into the sand, Rebekah staring at his body as Klaus walked back to his own horse. He hopped up into it, starting to move on finally. Stefan adjusted his brother so Damon was sitting up and started after Klaus with Elena following.

* * *

><p>Damon winced as his head pounded, a dizziness washing over him. His ribs hurt where he remembered being kicked, the bullet still lodged in his shoulder, the wound stinging and burning. He opened his eyes to see the setting sun on the horizon and the neck of a black horse.<p>

He was on an horse?

He also noticed that he couldn't move his hands and something tight was wrapped around his chest, the swaying of the horse making it hard for him to stay upright.

Or was that the dizziness?

"What?" he questioned to himself as he saw Klaus riding a few feet ahead of him.

"Shut your mouth." Came a quiet reply from right above his ear, Damon recognizing Stefan's voice right away. He tried to turn his head slightly to look at Stefan, but his shoulder burned and the ropes made that hard to do the movement also.

"I think I'm going to be sick." Damon stated in a quiet voice, his thoughts and head swimming as his stomach twisted.

"Don't," Stefan said, "just wait, we are almost at the cabin. You can puke all you want there."

Damon sighed, closing his eyes as he waited for the nausea to pass, a few questions coming to his mind.

"Where is Katherine?" he asked quietly, opening his eyes.

"Dead." Stefan stated, Damon pausing and glanced at him. She was dead? How?

"Stefan? What? H-"

"No more questions," Stefan stated, "pretend to be passed out, it'll be easier this way."

Damon let out a sigh, closing his eyes. The swaying made it hard for him to keep his eyes closed, Damon thinking that he was falling off a number of times.

Though, he must have dozed off, because when he woke up Stefan was just entering a ranch, a few new faces showing up. Damon quickly shut his eyes, allowing himself to be limp. It wasn't hard, his head swimming even more than before.

The swaying stopped, Damon feeling Stefan get off. As soon as he was gone, Damon slid sideways off the horse and hit the ground. He let out a loud yelp, pain shooting through his ribs and shoulder, not to mention the he got the wind knocked out of him.

He was pulled up to his feet, Damon's eyes snapping open to see Klaus standing in front of him.

"You don't look so good, Damon." he said, Damon wanting to spit at him. But, he was too thirsty to gather up any spit to do so.

"Well, he's lost a lot of blood from the gun shot." Stefan said, Damon being pushed forward. Damon's eyes were closed again, having shut without him noticing. He was jostled when he was pulled forward, tripping over something.

He glanced down, noticing that he was climbing up stairs.

"Get Elijah." he heard Klaus say to someone, Damon wondering if they would kill him already. Katherine was dead, Mikael was probably gone.

He wondered what was going on, his heart racing as he was placed down on a hard surface. A new voice assaulted his ears, sounding like it was just above him.

"What happened?"

"He was shot," Stefan said, "there might be something wrong with his ribs, too."

There was a pause, "alright, flip him over."

Damon felt his world shift, his eyes opening. There was man standing above him, towering being the better term. He was rather tall from Damon's view, his eyes taking in the man's short brown hair and frown.

"You can fix him?" That was Klaus. Damon glanced up slightly, but hissed when his shoulder burned. He fell back against the table, letting out some air.

"I wouldn't do that." the taller man said, walking so he was standing above his head and peeled back his short a bit to get a look at his shoulder.

"Well, it's pretty deep," he said after a few moments of silence, "but it's nothing I can't fix."

"Great," Klaus said, walking into Damon's line of sight, "don't worry, you are in good hands. Elijah will help you with that bullet and then we'll find you a nice place to stay."

"You can go to hell." Damon groaned out, closing his eyes again.

Klaus only smirked, turning and walking out of the room.


End file.
